Regarding Dawnie
by amy.ward.906
Summary: BtVS s5ep13 Blood Ties AU : Dawn cuts herself but someone else takes care of her. Not so much of an AU but a different take on the scene...so maybe it is an AU...you decide


Dawn had snuck back in her room after leaving the Magic Box. She wasn't real. These words kept repeating themselves in her head. She had to find out what she was. Other than the Key there had to be more to her than that.

_Meanwhile, downstairs…_

Joyce was leaving the party. The Gallery had called and they needed some help with a shipment problem. Buffy had decided to go out on patrol, while Giles had to go to the Magic Box. The security company had sent him a page that the silent alarm had been set off. Anya, being concerned about the money, went with him.

That had left Xander, Willow and Tara on cleanup duty. After taking the dishes to the kitchen, Xander offered to wash them while Willow and Tara sat on the couch and relaxed. The two Wicca's were giggling over something when Tara felt something was wrong.

She looked over and saw Dawn. Her arm was bloody. It looked like she had cut it up with a knife. Oh no, it had been cut up with a knife. The knife that had been used to cut the birthday cake was being held loosely in the hand of her opposite arm.

"Oh my god," said Tara.

Her and Willow rose from the couch and rushed over to her.

"Dawnie," said Willow.

"Is this blood?"

"What-

"This is blood isn't it? It can't be me. I'm not a key."

Xander comes out of the kitchen. "Okay, dishes are done so what's-

He sees Willow and Tara crowded around Dawn. "Hey Dawnster what's all the commotion?"

"I'm not a thing."

"Dawnie-

"What am I?" she says gritting her teeth. "Am I real? Am I anything?"

Xander sees her sliced up arm. "Dawnster you were supposed to cut the cake, not your arm," he says trying to make a joke to lighten the atmosphere. Realizing it wasn't working he said, "Tara can you get the first-aid kit? It's under the bathroom sink."

She ran up the stairs, while Xander and Willow led Dawn to the kitchen. Dawn, however, ran away from them before they got to the kitchen and took off up the stairs. Rushing past Tara, she ran into her room and locked the door behind her. Curling up on her bed, she didn't move her body. Her mind raced though.

_This wasn't her bed. This wasn't her room. This wasn't her life. Nothing was real. She's not real. She doesn't exist._

These last two thoughts kept repeating themselves over and over in her head.

_Meanwhile, out in the hall…_

Xander, Willow and Tara were trying to get into Dawn's room. "Is she even in there?" Xander wondered. "Maybe she snuck out."

Tara shook her head, "S-she's in th-there." Tara had already magically confirmed it.

"Well, can't we poof open her door?" Xander asked. She needed her arm treated.

"She needs to trust us," said Willow. Xander said, "Willow, call Giles."

Tara shook her head. "I'll call Mr. Giles. You two focus on getting her out of her room," she said before running downstairs and calling the Magic Box.

_At the Magic Box…_

Giles couldn't understand it. The shop was broken into but nothing was taken. Anya was just happy no money was missing.

**RING! RING**!

Giles picked up the phone, "Hello?"

"Mr. Giles?"

"Tara? Is everything alright?"

"It's Dawn. Sh-she's…

"Is she hurt?" Giles asked her. He knew that Buffy should have told Dawn about her existence, her origin.

"She cut her arm a-and she's locked herself in her room."

"All right, just stay calm. I'll be there directly."

"O-okay," said Tara before she hung up the phone. Giles hung up the phone at his end before saying to Anya, "Lock up when you leave."

"Okay Boss." Anya could tell something was wrong and knew enough about human behavior to keep her blunt and honest mouth shut. Giles left the Magic Box and hopped in his sports car before speeding off towards the Summers residence. Arriving there about 10 minutes later he parked in the Summers driveway and went inside.

Giles took in Tara's upset demeanor and asked her "Where's Dawn?"

"She's still in her r-room."

Giles nodded before heading upstairs. Seeing Xander and Willow still unable to get Dawn to emerge from her room, he sent them both downstairs. Getting a key from Buffy's room, he unlocked Dawn's room. Entering the young girl's room slowly, he saw the youngest Summers girl curled up on her bed with a blank stare on her face. Worried that she might have gone into shock, he went over and sat next to her.

"Dawn," he said as he put a hand on her shoulder. She blinked a few times coming out of her daze. "Dawn," Giles said taking her injured arm gently. "What happened?"

She pulled her arm from his grasp. He took it again, this time holding it a bit more firmly to prevent her from pulling it away. "Dawn what happened?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter."

"No, it does matter," he said as he looked over her arm to see how deep the cuts were. Dried blood littered the slashes that lay across her arm. At first glance it seemed bad, but Giles determined it looked much worse than it was.

"No it doesn't. I'm not real."

"Dawn why-

"I read the book. I know I'm just a key, just a thing. I don't really exist."

Giles made an impulsive decision and promptly pulled the girl into a hug. Dawn remained stiff for a moment before leaning into his embrace.

"You are real," Giles said as he hugged the girl, his arms wrapped around her, his hang running over her hair. Dawn wasn't sure what to feel, what to do, so she just leaned against him. Giles let go of Dawn reluctantly, knowing she needed his care, his love and pulled the girl from the bed and into a standing position before sending her downstairs with him following right behind her. Xander and Willow were sitting at the kitchen table. As the Watcher and the Key came downstairs, the blonde Wicca, Tara, made her way up the stairs to draw Dawn a relaxing bath. Tonight Dawnie needed a bit of TLC after the latest revelation in her life. Willow went upstairs to change Dawns bedding, where blood from her arm had smeared on the flower printed lilac sheets. After, the bed was made with Scooby Doo sheets and a matching comforter to make her feel wanted.

_Downstairs…_

Giles pulled ointment and bandages out of the first aid kit and filled a bowl with warm water. Setting the items on the table, before grabbing a cloth and sitting down in front of Dawn, he unfolded her arm, which she had wrapped around her body but she pulled it back. After attempting again, Giles nodded to Xander, who held Dawn in his lap and held her arm out to Giles. She considered fighting them, but decided against it. She winced as Giles cleaned the blood from her arm and bandaged it, as Xander ran his hand over her hair comforting her.

The night progressed as Tara and Willow babied her, giving her some sense of belonging and comfort as they bathed her and tucked her into bed. Giles read to her until she was almost asleep, then himself and Xander kissed her goodnight.

As she slipped into dreamland, she realized something good…

She was real.


End file.
